Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

The number of advertised auction notices in Massachusetts plunged 75 percent in April, as well as other types of foreclosure activity, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported June 5, 2013.

There were 348 auction announcements in April, down more than 75 percent from 1,403 in April 2012. Auction notices through the first four months of the year are down 74 percent to 1,450 from 5,577 during the same period in 2012. It appears that the chance to buy a foreclosure is about over for most Massachusetts home buyers. Investors will pounce on anything halfway decent, and properties that need substantial work are not usually a good fit for first-time home buyers. 

The number of foreclosure petitions, the first step in the foreclosure process in Massachusetts, recorded declined nearly 79 percent year-over-year to 370 from 1,750 in April 2012. April foreclosure petitions did increase from 284 in March, but the number of foreclosure petitions were well below levels in months past that were around 1,000. Through April of 2013, 2,450 petitions to foreclose have been recorded statewide, down almost 60 percent from 6,098 during the same period in 2012.

“We’re seeing foreclosure starts consistently under the 1,000 mark for six straight months and fewer than 500 for two straight months. The real estate market has improved dramatically in 2013 with median prices up 11 percent and this has slowed foreclosures,” Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, said in a press release. “Another factor in the decline was recently reported by the Massachusetts Housing Partnership. MHP found that a 2012 state law that requires banks to notify borrowers of their rights to pursue a loan modification before foreclosing is contributing to this precipitous drop. The real question is whether foreclosure activity will pick back up once lenders have modified their procedures to comply with the new law.”

Foreclosure deeds, which represent completed foreclosures in Massachusetts, declined more than 68 percent to 234 in April from 750 in April 2012. A total of 995 foreclosure deeds have been recorded in the first four months of the year, declining 69 percent from 3,215 during the same period last year.